their ban on gay scouts and scout leaders. and abc's david muir is here to tell us why this ban may finally be ending. david? >> reporter: in fact, diane, tonight, a spokesman for the boy scouts of america confirming to abc news, they are close to ending the ban on gays, skoufts and leaders, meeting early next week, they could very well ban all national poll sill regarding sexual orientation. for more than 100 years, the boy scouts of america have been shaping young minds. but tonight, proof some of those young minds are now shaping the very leaders at the top. the boy scouts of america could soon lift the ban on gay scout leaders and gay scouts themselves. it would affect scouts like ryan andresen, from california, who started as a cub scout at 6. earning all 21 merit badges in his life long dream of becoming an eagle scout. but after those 21 badges were earned, the answer was no. >> you completed everything, you've done everything you're supposed to do, but they're saying they won't give it to.

>> yeah, just because i'm gave. >> and your mom started a petition. >> yes. >> i love mothers like that. is your mother in the audience? good for you. >> reporter: his mom and his dad starting that petition -- "boy scouts, don't let your anti-gay policy deny my son his eagle award." late today, i asked ryan's father what he makes of the boy scouts on the verge of a major change. >> the short answer is, it's about time. you know, one of the points of the scout law is that you have to be honest and trustworthy and these kids have not bnl allowed to do that. >> reporter: jennifer tells the story of cruise, who wanted to be a cub scout, so, she became the den leader. >> before i knew it, i was living a life of merit badges and knots. >> reporter: but she says she was then fired, told her sexual orientation did not meet the high standards of conduct. it would be a distraction. >> well, i'm not a distraction. alicia is not a distraction. we are moms. and we are americans. >> reporter: her boy wiping away tears.

but it's not just pressure from faces, families like this one. it's financial, too. support from some of the boy scouts' biggest sponsors could be at stake if they don't change. but there is a divide in this country when it comes to allowing gay adults to be scout leaders. look at americans under 30. 60% say yes, they should be allowed. americans older than 50? just 39% say yes. tonight, one religious leader saying a change in policy, nothing less than disastrous for the boy scouts of america. a real divide. an announcement could come as early as next week, but even if national leaders decide to drop the ban, we heard something key today. a spokesman in a statement saying local chartered boy scout groups could still choose leaders, quote, consistent with their beliefs. and that parents would be able to choose a local unit that best meets their needs. a little bit of wiggle room there. >> all right, but we were talking earlier about the norman rockwell painting, the classic painting, the cub scout dreaming one day of becoming a real boy scout and the caption to that painting -- >> reporter: can't wait, right?

>> can't wait. all right, david muir reporting in. and now, we move on, because tonight, we are learning more about that staggering loss of life during the fire in a nightclub in brazil. 231 people killed, no alarms, no sprinklers, no fire escapes. and tonight, american experts are studying this tragedy for the lessons that could save lives here at home. abc's matt gutman is in brazil at the scene for us tonight. matt? >> reporter: thank you, diane. this is the nightclub and those are the doors through which nearly 2,000 college students tried to squeeze through. as that fire raged, you can also see here where good samaritans and firefighters used sledge hammers to break through into the bathroom and try to drag people out here to safety. but the pain here is still very raw tonight. families shattered by tragedy, holding onto these coffins and those photos. all that's left tonight of loved ones. this, as tonight, arrests are being made. the club had no alarms, no sprinklers and no fire escapes.

it was just after 2:00 a.m. sunday when this photo posted on twitter alleges to show the moment the band on stage fired pyrotechnics, quickly igniting the ceiling over some 2,000 club goers. flames and smoke spread fast. college students panicked, rushing to the only exit. but witnesses say, at first, security guards stopped people from leaving, thinking they hadn't paid their bills. in that dark chaos, hundreds crushed against the exit, dropping from smoke inhalation, their bodies blocking the door. hundreds would die trapped. others mistook bathrooms for exits. in 2003, it was the nightclub fire in rhode island, 100 dead, 40 jammed and killed at one door, when there were three other exits. >> you only have seconds for you to react and make a decision as what you're going to do. >> reporter: safety experts say whether you're headed to a movie theater, a restaurant, any place unfamiliar, there are lessons. first, look around.

not just at how you came in, but at all the exits and how to reach them. research shows us that in the chaos, 80% of us will simply go with the flow. breaking from the crowd and reaching one of those other exits could save your life. if there is a fire, keep your body low. temperatures near the floor could be 1,000 degrees cooler, buying you time. diane, the air here still heavy with that smoke and all day, people have been leaving flowers and bouquets and standing over here. the mourning here has just begun in this town. diane? >> all right, matt gutman on the tragic scene in brazil tonight. and from brazil, we head to egypt, where tonight, there is a caldron of unrest again. look. hundreds of protesters clashing with police, tear gas filling the air. and veteran journalist aleem maqbool of our partners at the bbc was there, and he rushed us this report, just before the evening curfew descended. >> reporter: well, here people in the center of suez are preparing to defy the curfew

that's been imposed by president morsi. just about to come into force. and as you can see, these people seem to have no intention of going anywhere. and the signs are that it could turn violent once again tonight. this is where the deadliest protests were held last friday. ten people were killed as anger has really boiled over across egypt against the president. many opposition parties feeling that he's trying to impose an islamist agenda on the country. what we've heard from the protesters is they will keep coming out, day after day, they'll keep coming out until the president sketches down. >> amid the turmoil in egypt, aleem maqbool of the bbc. and, back here at home, a sign that washington is going to act on something together. four democrats, four republicans came together and issued a call to action today on the 11 million undocumented immigrants living and working in america. and the president will weigh in tomorrow. abc's cecilia vega now on what they want to do.

>> reporter: it would be a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in this county. a long, difficult path. >> let's create a system to bring them forward. allow them to settle their debt to society. >> reporter: here's how the sweeping bipartisan proposal would work. undocumented immigrants would register with the government for temporary status. and while their background checks are under way, they could immediately get right to work. but there would be fines and back taxes to pay. and immigrants applying for permanent residency would have to get in line. the back of the line. citizenship could take as long as 15 years. and for the first time ever, obtaining legal residency would mean having to speak english and pass a civics test. there would also be a beefed up border. >> i think after the election, finally, the country's realizing that you cannot have two classes of people in this country. >> reporter: for undocumented immigrants like sophia campos, it could mean no longer living in hiding.

>> when an entire government, an entire society, right, is telling you blatantly they you are worth less than the person next to you, that hurts. >> reporter: for the recent college grad, being undocumented means not knowing if she'll be able to get a job. for her babysitter mother, it means not being able to return to peru to visit sick family. you used the word imprisoned? >> yeah, because it's different kind of life that people who feel safe in this country, and people who, like me -- >> reporter: people like her who may soon come out of the shadows. cecilia vega, abc news, los angeles. and now, a modern health alert that began with someone at the center of our abc news family. barbara walters. we told you about her fall last week, fainting, injuring her head. well, we know tonight she's in the hospital with a case of chicken pox. something most of us think is a hazard only for children.

but abc's chief medical editor dr. richard besser tells us, tens of thousands of adults can also be at risk. >> barbara has the chicken pox. yeah. >> what? >> apparently she never had it as a child. so, now she's being told to rest. she's not allowed any visitors and we're telling you, barbara, no scratching, okay? >> right. >> reporter: it's not as rare as you might think. if you are over 25, there's a good chance you didn't get the chicken pox vaccine, introduced in 1995. and if you didn't get the vaccine, and never had chicken pox, you could be just like barbara. about 30,000 adults get chicken pox every year. it's spread through the air and contact with those itchy spots. if if you've never had chicken pox and never had the vaccine, you might want to get to a doctor's office and get it now. adult chicken pox isn't just inconvenient. it can also lead to complications, like pneumonia, brain inflammation and bacterial infections. in barbara's case, chicken pox is causing that annoying

itching. >> the spots will spread worse if you scratch them up. we love you, we miss you, we just don't want to hug you. >> reporter: and even if you had the chicken pox, you're still able to get shingles, which is caused by the same virus. there's a separate vaccine recommended for everyone over 60. the good news, barbara is doing great. but remember, adults have to worry not just about chicken pox, but also shingles. much more common, very painful, so, getting vaccinated against that makes a lot of sense. >> and come home soon, barbara. we are waiting for you here. thank you, rich. and still ahead on "world news," the average american family loses $190 a month on food. watch our cameras surprise one family with how much they waste. >> that's pretty ridiculous. >> and we'll also tell you how to put money right back in your wallet. real money, next.

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we've decided to we're all having such a great year in the gulf, put aside our rivalry. 'cause all our states are great. and now is when the gulf gets even better. the beaches and waters couldn't be more beautiful. take a boat ride or just lay in the sun. enjoy the wildlife and natural beauty. and don't forget our amazing seafood. so come to the gulf, you'll have a great time. especially in alabama. you mean mississippi. that's florida. say louisiana or there's no dessert. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. and now, here is a new statistic for your life. americans throw away enough food every year to fill 730 football stadiums. and to bring it home, every average home, every household throws out $190 worth of food every month. so, we decided to take a look at what we're all doing and why and abc's amy robach found some quick ways to put that real money back in the family wallet.

>> reporter: meet rebecca dickinson, a stay at home mom feeding a family of four. >> you guys want something to drink? >> reporter: she makes breakfast, packs school lunches and cooks dinner for her two kids and husband jeff, who is a financial planner. what would you say your weekly food bill is? >> $300? >> all in. >> probably. >> yeah. >> reporter: so you're looking at $1,200 to -- >> $1,400. >> reporter: $1,400, $1,500 a month. >> yeah. >> reporter: but how much of that monthly bill goes to waste? to find out, we set up a real money experiment, following the dickinsons for an entire week, setting up cameras in their shopping cart, the refrigerator, the pantry, even weighing their trash. so, we brought in marcus samuelsson, celebrity chef and owner of new york city's red rooster restaurant, for a little kitchen confidential. if you ran your kitchen the way most americans run their kitchens, what would happen to your business? >> we would be closed. >> reporter: on the way to the

dickinson's, marcus and i watched what our cameras caught on tape and saw leftovers like taco meat and stews, to unused spinach and vegetables, all thrown away. now, here's a challenge. throwing out produce. >> when we think food doesn't look that fresh, it probably has a couple more days to go on it. >> reporter: because the use by date, the sell by date is different from the expiration date. >> absolutely. absolutely. >> reporter: which brings us to our first tip. learn the lingo. sell by or use by doesn't mean toss by. often, you can eat it up to seven days later. and when we arrived at the dickinson's -- >> reporter: hello, nice to see you. i'm amy. >> hi, amy. >> reporter: we found rebecca about to throw out the same squash soup we witnessed her making a week sago. >> wow, that's a lot. >> reporter: same with the fish she made just a few days ago. >> i had overestimated how much -- >> sure, and that's common, right? >> reporter: our next tip, plan your plate. portion sizes don't have to be supersized. >> protein can be a little smaller. >> reporter: a single serving of protein is just three ounces. the size of a deck of cards.

and tip number three, where you store your food matters. zone your fridge. >> anything that has liquid, put it further down in the refrigerator. >> reporter: the bottom is the coldest, where dairy, eggs and liquids should be kept. the top shelf and the doors tend to be warmer. so, what did our cameras find for our week with the dickinsons? don't feel bad, because this is right on par with the rest of america. but you threw out 13 pounds of food in a week. >> oh, my god. >> holy cow. all right. >> that's pretty ridiculous. >> reporter: you're a finance guy. you know what that means. >> he does. >> it means money. >> reporter: for this family, about 25% of their food budget goes in the trash. that's $350 a month. by cutting the waste, the dickinsons can save more than $4,000 a year. >> and that's real money! >> reporter: amy robach, abc news, morristown, new jersey. and coming up next here, the oscar countdown is on. but what was the dress last night that had everybody talking today? we solve a mystery in our "instant index," coming up.

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so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. and tonight, in our "instant index," we invite you to celebrate a birthday of sorts for an american past time in almost every american home. take a look. 55 years ago, a danish toy maker submitted this patent for a tiny plastic brick. we now know them as legos. the name comes from a danish

word, by the way, that means "play well." and we found one of the first commercials inviting a whole family to gather around for a wildly exciting night of fun with their legos. and there was some serious heat at the white house today. miami heat. take a look. the fan in chief, president obama, hosting the nba champs, including a very proud lebron james. >> am i supposed to say something? >> you can if you want. it's your world, man. >> we in the white house right now, this is like -- hey. momma, i made it. >> "mom, i made it," he said. in return, the heat offered the president a ten-day contract, a miami heat jersey, and a kind of team photo. the 6'1" president dwarfed by the 6'8" james. and the countdown to oscar is on. did you see this last night at the screen actors guild?

as jennifer lawrence stepped up to receive her best actress award, the worried audience began to murmur that her dress seemed to separate there, but the dressmaker, christian dior, said, relax. the dress is made with tiers, designed to separate and show a tulle net. quote, it was not ripped. there was no malfunction. mystery solved. and i think the louisville girl looked great. and what are you and your friends talking about every day? tweet me your thoughts and pictures @dianesawyer. and coming up, why has he been crowned the perfect man? and what about his rival? our own david wright has the 200-year secret of being irresistible, ready to unveil. [ justin ] mulligan sir. mulligan. take a mulligan. i took something for my sinuses, but i still have this cough. [ male announcer ] truth is, a lot of sinus products don't treat cough. they don't?

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and it gave me my custom number. my arches needed more support until i got my number at the free dr. scholl's foot mapping center. i'm a believer! and you will be too! learn where to find your number at drscholls.com. i'm maria, and i have diabetic nerve pain. i felt like my feet were going to sleep. it was like pins and needles sticking in your toes and in your feet. it progressed from there to burning like i was walking on hot coals. at that point, i knew i had to do something. when i went to see my doctor, she chose lyrica. once i started taking the lyrica, the pain started subsiding. [ female announcer ] it's known that diabetes damages nerves. lyrica is fda approved to treat diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters,

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and finally tonight, it is the 200-year anniversary of a book that cracked a vital code. the eternal secret of how a man can be irresistible to women. and our very own david wright opens the vault and the book and steps inside. >> reporter: the scene where mr. darcy takes the plunge fully clothed -- >> mr. darcy! >> reporter: that scene has 3 million views on youtube, the most popular "pride and prejudice" clip by far. >> it's all full of sex that's about to explode on us all. >> reporter: as a british sex symbol, mr. darcy is the opposite of james bond, rarely shaken or stirred. whether it's lawrence olivier or colin firth -- >> my affections and wishes are unchanged. >> reporter: -- he is the thinking woman's heartthrob. >> when i was about to play the part, everybody i knew was horrified and astonished.

women i knew said, "don't! you'll ruin it forever!" >> reporter: no chance of that. there's now the bollywood version, "bride and prejudice," the zombie version and on the internet -- >> my name is lizzy bennet -- >> reporter: a version where mr. darcy maintains a twitter feed. tonight, we're in pasadena. southern california could not be more different from the world of jane austen and pemberly. and yet here, everyone is dressing the part. this is the jane austen equivalent of a "star trek" convention. who knew? what is it about mr. darcy? i don't get it. >> you don't get it? >> well, you're a man. >> he admits when he's wrong, but he's strong in his opinion, >> he learns to appreciate her because of who she was. >> reporter: they're convinced mr. darcy is out there, perhaps working up the courage to ask them to dance. david wright, abc news, pasadena. >> come back to earth, david. and thank you for watching. we're always working for you at

abcnews.com. "nightline" will be along later at its new time, 12:35 a.m. eastern. and we'll see you right back here again tomorrow night. until then, have a great night. orks san francisco bar owners stirring up opposition to a super bowl suggestion by the mayor. plans to water down the message on alcohol. >> how are you doing, everybody? larry beil, live, we'll talk with jim harbaugh, and we'll talk about the ravens, everything you wanted from new orleans is coming up. >> controversy about how 49ers distribute allotment of super bowl tickets to season ticket

holders. >> and will police adopt to get tough on criminal policies? will a softer approach work better here in the bay area? >> thank you. go, niners! >> san francisco mayor may be a niners fan but is hoping fans don't go overboard after the big game. good evening, i'm dan ashley. >> i'm carolyn johnson. mayor lee suggested san francisco bar owners might want to consider serving something other than hard alcohol on super bowl sunday. he saw what happened after the giants won the world series in october and doesn't want drunken fans to give a repeat performance. abc 7 news and wayne freedman under new orleans tonight. but first, carolyn tileler with the blow back carolyn? >> you can expect sports bars here along the embark dare yes

to be packed on sunday. the mayor hope that's those who serve the drinks and those who consume drinks do so responsibly but one idea has the alcohol industry fired up. >> maybe also, to suggest that they serve something but heavy alcohol during time of celebration that doesn't help with people who want to maybe go beyond the bounds of acceptibility on celebration autos that is the comment that captured attention. san francisco mayor ed lee announcing plans to visit restaurants and bars in areas marred by violence following the world series win. the mayor never mentioned and outright ban. but today, the american beverage institute called any attempt to restrict sales a ridiculous idea, saying the city should avoid demonizing a perfectly legal product. h